South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday called for a joint response to a threat posed by the deployment of over 100,000 North Korean soldiers to support Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Yoon Suk Yeol made the remarks while receiving a Ukrainian delegation led by Defence Minister Rustem Umarov in Seoul. Yeol expressed hope that his country and Ukraine will work out effective ways to deal with the security threat posed by the military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, including North Korea’s troops’ dispatch, president’s office said in a statement.
It should be noted that earlier in October, Yeol had warned to supply Ukraine with weapons in response to military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.
The Ukrainian delegation also met with President Yeol’s national security adviser, Shin Wonsik, and Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun. During the meetings, Umerov briefed the South Korean officials on the war with Russia and expressed hope that Kyiv and Seoul will further boost cooperation, the statement said.
According to the statement, the sides agreed to share information about Pyongyang troops deployed in Russia and weapons and technology transfer between the two allies. There was no mention in the statement about North Korea’s weapons supply to Ukraine. Since Russia’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in Feburary 2022, Seoul has sent humanitarian and financial aid to Ukraine and joined US-led sanctions against Russia but has withheld from active engagement in the war.
